1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera door opening/shutting apparatus for a portable terminal, and more particularly to a camera door opening/shutting apparatus for a portable terminal capable of semi-automatically opening and shutting the camera door of a portable terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a “portable communication apparatus” refers to an apparatus which a user can carry with him to perform wireless communication with a desired partner. Portable communication terminals include HHPs, CT-2 cellular phones, digital phones, PCS phones, and PDAs and may be classified into various categories according to their appearance, such as bar-type apparatuses, flip-type apparatuses, and folder-type apparatuses. The bar-type apparatuses have a single housing shaped like a bar. The flip-type apparatuses have a flip or a cover which is rotatably coupled to a bar-shaped housing by a hinge device. The folder-type apparatuses have a folder which is connected to a single bar-shaped housing by a hinge device in such a manner that the folder can be rotated to fold on or unfold away from the housing.
For video communication, conventional portable communication apparatuses are equipped with a camera lens as a photographing means, which is used to perform video communication with a desired partner or to photograph a desired object.
Recent portable communication apparatuses which are mainly used for voice communication or video communication are flip-type or folder-type apparatuses in many cases. Flip-type or folder-type apparatuses, which have prevailed recently in the market, have excellent sound sensitivity and are advantageously made in a compact size and reduced weight. The camera lens is generally mounted either on the body of flip-type apparatuses or on the hinge device on the folder of folder-type apparatuses. A camera phone, which is equipped with such a camera lens, can be carried conveniently to take still images or motion pictures with the lens.
However, conventional camera phones have a problem in that the surface of their camera lens is easily contaminated by dust or alien substances and any still images or motion pictures, which are taken in such a state, may be unclear.
In addition, conventional camera phones use a small camera and the hole of the lens surface is very small. This makes it difficult to remove alien substances from the lens.
Conventional camera phones may also cause another person to be unaware that they are being surreptitiously photographed, because the camera lens is always open.
In an attempt to solve the above problems, a door opening/shutting apparatus has been positioned in the lens hole and is rotated by a hinge unit to open and shut. However, the door opening/shutting apparatus has a problem in that a user must manually rotate the door to open and shut it. This makes using the camera phones of portable communication apparatuses inconvenient.